Misfits and What Ifs
by TheEagerScribbler
Summary: A series of one-shots, outtakes, and rejected chapters/plot lines featuring the main cast that did not fit the main plot of Higher Stakes, which is a mostly canon friendly story where the Millennium items are back and Yami Bakura has once again teamed up with Zorc to finish what they started 20 years prior. Chap 1 (Ryou's POV) is up.
Author's Note: Hi everyone! This is companion to my story Higher Stakes (which takes place 20 years after the series ends), although you could probably still enjoy many of them separately. This piece takes place over the span of several chapters in Higher Stakes and probably won't all be in chronological order. Some are the events from the perspective of other characters and others will be former chapters that ended up playing out differently in the final version. Really it's for any content that I think that you might find interesting but doesn't fit. Enjoy!

In case any of you aren't following the main story, the Pharoah remains dead and in the afterlife, although he is still involved in the story some capacity.

-TheEagerScribbler

The Prisoner: Ryou Bakura (Part 1)

The name listed on his birth certificate was Ryou Bakura, but his name was Ryou-just Ryou. He had a last name, but he liked to pretend that it wasn't a part of his identity because Bakura was what they called his dark self. He had spent years trying to run away from the memories painted with red and purple, but no matter how much he tried he could not run away from destiny. Like always it manifested itself in the form of a ring that Ryou had discovered on his nightstand one night after twenty years of blissful separation between himself and the object that had made his life hell. How could he ever forget waking up with scars and bruises that he had no recollection of getting and knowing that his body was partially responsible for plotting against his friends and causing them so much suffering? How could he forget feeling like a Marionette with no control over what happened to himself?

Ryou tried to run, but a human body could never expend enough energy to outrun magic. He was forced to resign himself to the knowledge that sooner rather than later the ring would appear around his neck once again. Before he had even reached the front door the ring was around his neck and a sinister hiss, "Is that how you greet an old friend?" Ryou tried to take it off but it stuck to his chest. "You didn't really think that I would let you go without a proper greeting did you?" The spirit projected himself outside of the ring and smirked in a predatory manner. The spirit was lion when Ryou was just a tabby cat. Ryou saw that he was ready to pounce but could do nothing but try to avert to the damage that his too sharp claws could do.

"Hello...Yami." Yami was the only name that he would ever know the spirit by, because to Ryou that was exactly what he was-he was the epitome of darkness. Nothing delighted him more than watching people suffer and their shrieks and howls and tears were just a symphony to his ears. This was the man that had held him prisoner in his soul room while he ran rampant plotting against Ryou's friends.

"Hello Landlord."

With those words Ryou found his body yanked back into his soul room. Ryou pounded on the door to his soul room but was unable to break free. He was now a prisoner, and the dark spirit had free reign over his body. He should have been absolutely terrified for himself, but he was far more worried about letting the spirit loose on the general population. The spirit was even more powerful than he remembered and he was capable of destruction and chaos that Domino had not seen since the last time he had mingled with the living. All Ryou could do now was hope that if the Millennium Ring had returned to him the other items had returned to their rightful owners.

His soul room had changed, but only barely. Now there were new pictures dotting the walls of new friends and places that he had visited. However, the largest edition was a flat screen TV on the wall through which he could see out of his own eyes, which was a bizarre position to be in. Nearly everything else was the were still childhood pictures of him and his sister Amane, and gleaming artifacts layering carefully arranged on shelves. All that had happened had only increased his thirst for ancient knowledge of the occult instead of quelled passion for knowledge only grew as the years went by, although he now treated artifacts and ancient resting places with the appropriate reverence and respect that he had lacked as a teenager. Now made it his mission to prevent potentially cursed artifacts from falling into the hands of innocent people. He wasn't foolish enough to think that only the Ancient Egyptians had access to Magic.

He still kept in contact with his old friends, but his job required him to travel a lot, so they mostly met up once or twice a year, hung out for a month, and then he would leave to fly to job. Yugi and Tea had always been attracted to each other since school, so he was hardly surprised when he received the wedding invitation. He had flown all of the way back to Domino for the wedding, and he almost wished that he hadn't come. At first he was jealous of Yugi because he had everything that he had ever dreamed about. A permanent home, a wife, a daughter, and friends-he had roots. Once he grew up a little he realized how ridiculous the notion was. He liked traveling and he liked his work, and he knew going into it that he would have to sacrifice the picturesque notion of a family in order to pursue such a career. His job was dangerous and would require him to be gone for long portions of time-it would hardly be fair to this 'fictitious' spouse if he was gone 10 months out of the year. Now he was immensely glad that he was alone because it meant that there were less people to worry about getting hurt now that the ancient spirit was in charge. As it was he sat on the edge of his seat with each confrontation between the spirit of the millennium ring and Yugi and his friends, hoping that they would survive when pitted against the ancient spirit who was even more powerful than before.

Days went by and Ryou was still stuck in his soul room. In the past the Spirit had decided that would be advantageous to let him take the wheel for at least part of most days. Clearly he now considered it to be his body now, and Ryou was simply an annoyance to be carefully sealed away.

Ryou watched in fascination as Seto Kaiba used the millennium rod to defeat Bakura's creature. Really he was almost giddy with the complete, ridiculous irony the man who once believed that magic was no more real than the theory that aliens built the pyramids was chosen to wield such a powerful magical artifact. It was no surprise then that the others would have their items. Yugi was the Pharaoh's legacy, Ishizu his tomb keeper, and Pegasus had had the eye once before. After a moment he realized that Yugi wasn't wearing his puzzle. Was it now powerless without the Pharaoh to inhabit it? Given what he knew about magic, probably not. The other items worked just fine without ancient spirits living in them. That could only mean one thing-he hadn't solved it.

Before he even realized what he was doing Ryou found himself pacing back and forth. What did this mean? What if it meant that...No, he couldn't think that way. Yugi not being chosen to wield the puzzle went against every instinct when it came to dealing with Egyptian magic. It was impossible. Yugi was the incarnation of The Nameless Pharaoh, had proven himself worthy of the puzzle once, and was the last person that Ryou could even possibly imagine being corrupted by the shadows. He was one of the only people on earth who was capable of handling the power that cards and tablets alike could hardly contain.

At this point he had no choice but to believe that Yugi would get his hands on the puzzle and solve it. If Yugi didn't Bakura would, and he shuddered to imagine the amount of damage that he could inflict with the Puzzle. Although Ryou had no way of knowing whether or not this was true, he thought that perhaps it was the most powerful item-It was the only one that the Thief King seemed to fear. The spirit was a skilled liar, but he could not lie to Ryou. Obtaining the puzzling was more than just a strategy to rid himself of the Pharaoh. It was a way to obtain incredible power. Only three people had been chosen to hold the puzzle despite centuries of people trying and failing to solve it. The First two were the Pharaoh and the Pharoah's father, and the third was Yugi Motou. Yugi was the King of Games, and the reincarnation of Puzzle's spirit. That meant that only people who had been deemed worthy to use the puzzle were kings.

A sudden wave of hysteria bubbled up to the surface and he let out a short laugh. Even if his Yami managed to get control of the Puzzle it would reject him. For that he imagined himself to be a king he would never be deemed worthy to handle it. If he ever got ahold of the puzzle it would block him at every turn.

During one of the Spirit's spy missions he spotted finally spotted it. It was safe and solved, hanging around Yugi's neck.

He doubted that Yugi even noticed it, but he somehow managed to make the ancient artifact seem like a crown, and now he looked like he was holding court when his friends gathered around him looking for answers. They should have worn expressions of terror and anxiety, but they looked every bit as determined as ever. The items would not have come back to them without a reason, and that could only mean one thing. They truly had the power to defeat his other self. Hope slowly warmed Bakura. He walked over and picked up a picture sitting on a shelf. "Something that you cannot see…" He muttered to himself. They had everything that they needed, they just didn't know how to use it. He was unable to keep the smile that he unwillingly found forming on his face. "I know that you can hear me Yami! You may think that you have them beat, but here's something that you're too blinded to ever see -Yugi has all of the power that he will ever need to destroy you! You're running on borrowed time!"

The door to Ryou's soul room finally opened and his Yami leaned against the doorway with a devilish smirk across his lips. He closed the door behind him plopped down on the black leather couch in the corner of the room, casually placing his feet on the coffee table "They're the one's running on borrowed time. They're just to naive to see it. Playing with my food is simply too much fun to end the game too quickly. But don't worry Landlord, they'll be out of the way soon enough, and I might even find a way for you to go with them. Won't that be fun?"

"You've been defeated twice!" Ryou snapped.

"I'm hardly the type to make the same mistake twice," he growled. "I am allied with the most powerful being in the universe. There isn't a force in this world or any other that can stop me!"

What hope did they have against Zork? Ryou hated the hopelessness that began to creep over himself and he squashed it as quickly as he could. He would not allow himself to give in. If they could do it before they could do it again. "They'll defeat you because they have something that you can't see!"

His darker half snorted. "Oh? What would that be?"

"If you're so clever and all powerful, why don't you figure it out?"

"You know, I find it rather surprising that you've changed so little after all this confidence in your friends is touching, but misguided."

Ryou smirked. Despite all of his Yami's protests he always made the same mistakes. "You're the one who is misguided. Do you really think that you're the only one with allies from the other realm?"

Yami started laughing. "You really think the Pharaoh is going to be of any help to them? He's already passed on. They're on their own."

"Think again-I've seen enough throughout my career to know that if he really wants to help, he will. The difference between the Pharaoh and you is that he considered Yugi his friend. That sort of bond isn't as easily broken as you'd think. When a spirit wants to do something, they'll always find a way if they try hard enough."

"You really believe that don't you? They must not care too much about you then Landlord, because I don't think that I've heard your name come up once."

Ryou could see what he was doing. He was trying to plant more seeds of doubt. Nice try."They care about me, and they know that the best way to help me is to defeat you!"

"I see that they've done an excellent job of brainwashing you, boy."

"It's been two decades. I'm hardly a boy." Ryou scowled.

Yami quirked an eyebrow. "Physically, perhaps, but you're still as naive and clueless as ever."

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a while before Ryou finally asked, "There's something that I've been wondering. Why did you choose me again? These puzzles work best with one particular person, but items like these should be able to find more than one person worthy if one rejects it. There's always a backup, and I know that if anyone could alter the magic of the item it would be you. So why not pick someone else?"

The spirit considered his answer for a moment before speaking. "Well, I suppose that I could do as you've said and obtain another host, but we're the most compatible. Any other host wouldn't work quite right. You should just accept that I'm not going anywhere anytime soon Landlord."

"We'll see."


End file.
